Bahrain Team Overview (Part I)
By Babak Golriz
Introduction
Bahrain has been on the way up for the past two years. Their results have backed this fact up. They have had impressive showings at the last two GCC Cup’s, finishing second to Saudi Arabia last year, whilst finishing 3rd in the recent Qatar 2004 instalment. Bahrain is managed by Croatian Srecko Juricic, the brother-in-law of Iran’s Branko Ivankovic. Bahrain is rapidly emerging as a new force in Asian football. The nation with a measly population of almost 700,000 in an area no bigger than Andorra or Singapore has only a total of 5,000 registered players. Bahrain was named the 2003 FIFA Best Mover of the Year, having jumped from 105 to 64 on the FIFA rankings that year. It was the first time an Asian nation won the award, and was due in no small measure to the influence of their manager Srecko Juricic. Juricic took over the helm in mid-2003, after the departure of popular German coach Wolfgang Sidka. Juricic, who had spent over nine years coaching in the Gulf before taking over the realms at Bahrain, has moulded a team that is defensively solid, yet at the same time not lacking goal scoring prowess both up front and especially out of a dynamic midfield.
Bahrain achieved their best ever showing during the Asian Cup this summer, when they finished 4th, after losing to Iran in the 3rd/4th place play-off match 4-2. However, their performances over the course of the tournament were impressive, having held the hosts 1-1, beaten the impressive Uzbek side on penalty kicks, and narrowly losing to Japan 4-3, having played most of the better football for long periods. Their talisman, Ala’a Hubail ended up being one of the stars of the tournament, having scored 5 goals during its course, and thus becoming joint top scorer with Iran’s Ali Karimi. He was also named in the Asian Cup All-Star XI along with Bahrain’s midfield playmaker, and occasional captain, Talal Yousef. Yousef has emerged as one of the best midfielders on the Asian continent and could easily walk into most Asian national sides. His driving runs, top-quality distribution and deadly free-kicks have made him a potent threat from midfield. Bahrain has ended 2004 ranked 8th in Asia and 49th overall in the FIFA World Rankings. However, Bahrain’s showing during the GCC Cup, especially its 3-0 crushing of Saudi Arabia, is sure to move it higher up in the rankings, when it is published in January.
All three of Bahrain’s opponents in their World Cup Qualification group will be wary that Bahrain will be a formidable opponent, especially in Manama, where they will be fairly confident of taking all three points against their visitors. Japan and Iran have both played Bahrain in recent months, and did not face an easy task. North Korea will be swimming in new shored during its games with Bahrain.
Formation
Juricic seems to favor playing with a 3-4-1-2 formation, where he tends to maintain maximum use of the wings. Bahrain also uses a roaming attacking midfielder in its team, in a free role behind the strikers. On paper, that player is Mohammad Salmeen. However, during play that role goes to Talal Yousef, who roams all over the pitch, sometimes finding himself on the left wing, at other times in attack and at other times in central midfield. If he wants to change things, Juricic tends to remove one of his attackers, in order to add an additional player in midfield. At that time, Bahrain’s shape resembles a 3-5-1-1 formation, with an inside-left and an inside-right playing in a three man central midfield. Two key positions in Bahrain’s style of play are the left and right wing-backs, usually either Mahmood Jalal or Salman Issa on the left and Mohammad Hubail on the right. Until recently, Issa was the preferred choice on the left-side; however, Juricic has gone with Jalal during all of the GCC Cup games. Issa has been impressive off the bench, scoring a goal against Saudi Arabia, and setting up another against Kuwait. However, when he has come on, Issa has not taken his customary left wing-back role. Instead, against Saudi Arabia he tended to have an attacking role from the centre-left area in midfield, to the right of Jalal, who played at left wing-back, where he would make attacking runs into the opposition penalty area. Mohammad Hubail, younger brother to Ala’a, Bahrain’s top scorer and key striker, is the regular right wing-back. The younger Hubail is one Bahrain’s key players, and he proficiently plays the role of both the attacking right-winger and defensive right-back. He tracks back at all times, and makes sure that his surging runs do not undermine Bahrain’s right side of defence. Hubail tends to cut inside quite a lot as he attempts to make runs into the opposition’s penalty area. He also sends in his fair share of crosses. However, he does suffer from a lack of physical presence. But, his pace seems to get him to avoid losing out in that respect. However, it must be said that he is not afraid to stuck in and do the nitty-gritty work.
In central midfield, Bahrain uses a sitting defensive midfielder, who rarely if ever makes forward runs, in the shape of Rashid Al Dossary. He is rarely visible during the flow of the game; however, he is quite competent in breaking up play. Mohammad Salmeen, another of Bahrain’s star players, plays alongside him in a deep playmaker role. Salmeens tends to play accurate over-the-defence long balls towards the final-third. His passes tend to pick out the man, more often than not. He is especially inclined in playing these balls towards the right-wing, where Mohammad Hubail picks up the ball and moves in for a quick cross. Salmeen also tends to make surging runs through the middle of the pitch. The ease at which he gets past the defenders is alarming. However, he uses more power and pace rather than skill to do so. Up front, if Juricic uses twin-strikers, then, Hussain Ali and Ala’a Hubail will be the chosen players more likely than not. Duaij Nasser is the reserve striker who is equally capable of scoring goals, as his compatriots. Ala’a is a hard-working forward, who comes deep quite a lot to collect the ball and spread the play. This may be problematic for the designated defender who is to mark him. His tendency to come into the half-way line, if not further back, can drag the defensive marker out of position. Hussain Ali is a typical traditional center-forward. He stays forward at all times. He possesses a good shot from long-range and is not afraid to test the goalkeeper. Ala’a has a good first touch, good ball-control, good physical strength to hold off defenders, despite his small size, and is a great goal poacher, especially inside the 6 yard box, a typical “fox in the box”.
In defence, Bahrain’s back three line up using a sweeper-like system. Recently, Hussain Ali Baba has played as the sweeper in the back-three. However, Bahrain’s regular captain Mohammad Juma’a made a return to the first team during Bahrain’s play-off match with Kuwait in the GCC Cup. At that time, Baba moved to play as the right-central defender, causing the regular player in that position, Abdullah Marzooqi, to be dropped. Baba possesses a great reading of the game and rectifies most of the mistakes that his compatriots in defence commit, when he plays as the central sweeper. He is also capable in the air and does not get caught short for pace. He is by far Bahrain’s best defender, and none of the others come close to his quality. On the left-central side, Mohammad Hussain plays. He is strong, good in the air and has good foot-work for a big player. However, he can let himself down with a lack of concentration at times, as happened against Oman in the semi-final match-up at the GCC Cup. Marzooqi, on the other hand, another big player, is quite capable in the air; however, his footwork, and ball control have a lot to be desired for. In short, he can be a liability, if someone runs at him with a ball, at pace. In goal, Bahrain has recently been using Al Muharraq goalkeeper Ali Hassan, but Ali Saeed of Al Ahli was their regular goalkeeper during the Asian Cup in China. During the play-off match against Kuwait recently, Bahrain used Mohammad Ali in goal.
(3-5-2)
Ali Hassan (goalie)
Hussain Ali Baba
Abdullah Al Marzooqi Mohammad Hussain
Mohammad Hubail Rashid Al Dossary Mohammad Salmeen Mahmood Jalal
Talal Yousef
Ala’a Hubail or Duaij Nasser Hussain Ali
We have given you the most likely Bahrain starting line-up, IF Ala’a Hubail is somehow cleared to play, which is not beyond question. If he is not cleared by FIFA, then expect Juricic to replace him by Duaij Nasser, who is a capable striker himself, and will play off Hussain Ali, in a withdrawn role that would see him help the midfielders a lot. A second option would be to play with one striker, most likely Hussain Ali, and add a 6th midfielder, Salman Issa who will play in the inside-left position between Mohammad Salmeen and Mahmood Jalal, a position that he has filled on many occasions quite capably.
Head to Head
Bahrain (BHR) Iran (IRN)
6 Played 6
2 Won 2
2 Drawn 2
2 Lost 2
6 Goals 8
8 Against 6
06-AUG-04 BEIJING (China PR) Iran vs. Bahrain 4:2 (1:0) Asian Nations Cup 2004
21-OCT-01 MANAMA (Bahrain) Bahrain vs. Iran 3:1 (2:0) FIFA WC 2002 Prel. Comp. AFC
14-SEP-01 TEHRAN (Iran) Iran vs. Bahrain 0:0 FIFA WC 2002 Prel. Comp. AFC
09-APR-00 TEHRAN (Iran) Iran vs. Bahrain 3:0 (0:0) Asian Nations Cup 2000 Prel. Comp.
04-APR-00 DAMASCUS (Syria) Bahrain vs. Iran 1:0 Asian Nations Cup 2000 Prel. Comp.
03-OCT-94 HIROSHIMA (Japan) Iran vs. Bahrain 0:0 Asian Games 1994
Squad
Number Name Position Club (In Bahrain unless stated)
Ali Hassan Goalkeeper Al Muharraq
21 Mohammad Ali Goalkeeper -
22 Ali Saeed Goalkeeper Al Ahli
Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim Goalkeeper Al Najmah
Sayed Mohammad Jaffer Sabet Goalkeeper Al Malkiyah
12 Mohammad Juma’a Defender Busaiteen
17 Hussain Ali Baba Defender Al Shammal (Qatar)
3 Abdullah Al Marzooqi Defender Al Rifa’a
2 Mohammad Hussain Defender Al Ahli
11 Faisal Abdul Aziz Defender Al Muharraq
5 Hassan Al Mussawi Defender Manama
M. S. Adnan Defender Al Khor
14 Salman Issa Defender Al Rifa’a
6 Ghazi Al Koari Defender Busaiteen
20 Adel Abbas Defender Manama
7 Mahmood Jalal Midfield Al Muharraq
8 Rashid Al Dossary Midfield Al Arabi (Qatar)
10 Mohammad Salmeen Midfield Al Arabi (Qatar)
13 Talal Yousef Midfield Al Kuwait (Kuwait)
15 Saleh Farhan Midfield Al Rifa’a
29 Mohammad Hubail Midfield Al Grafh (Qatar)
Ahmad Hassan Midfield Al Rifa’a
30 Ala’a Hubail Forward Al Grafh (Qatar)
23 Duaij Nasser Forward Al Shammal (Qatar)
9 Hussain Ali Forward Al Rayyan (Qatar)
19 Mohammad Jaffar Forward Al Muharraq
Hussain Salman Makki Forward Al Arabi (Qatar)
Rashed Jamal Salim Forward Al Najmah
By Babak Golriz
Introduction
Bahrain has been on the way up for the past two years. Their results have backed this fact up. They have had impressive showings at the last two GCC Cup’s, finishing second to Saudi Arabia last year, whilst finishing 3rd in the recent Qatar 2004 instalment. Bahrain is managed by Croatian Srecko Juricic, the brother-in-law of Iran’s Branko Ivankovic. Bahrain is rapidly emerging as a new force in Asian football. The nation with a measly population of almost 700,000 in an area no bigger than Andorra or Singapore has only a total of 5,000 registered players. Bahrain was named the 2003 FIFA Best Mover of the Year, having jumped from 105 to 64 on the FIFA rankings that year. It was the first time an Asian nation won the award, and was due in no small measure to the influence of their manager Srecko Juricic. Juricic took over the helm in mid-2003, after the departure of popular German coach Wolfgang Sidka. Juricic, who had spent over nine years coaching in the Gulf before taking over the realms at Bahrain, has moulded a team that is defensively solid, yet at the same time not lacking goal scoring prowess both up front and especially out of a dynamic midfield.
Bahrain achieved their best ever showing during the Asian Cup this summer, when they finished 4th, after losing to Iran in the 3rd/4th place play-off match 4-2. However, their performances over the course of the tournament were impressive, having held the hosts 1-1, beaten the impressive Uzbek side on penalty kicks, and narrowly losing to Japan 4-3, having played most of the better football for long periods. Their talisman, Ala’a Hubail ended up being one of the stars of the tournament, having scored 5 goals during its course, and thus becoming joint top scorer with Iran’s Ali Karimi. He was also named in the Asian Cup All-Star XI along with Bahrain’s midfield playmaker, and occasional captain, Talal Yousef. Yousef has emerged as one of the best midfielders on the Asian continent and could easily walk into most Asian national sides. His driving runs, top-quality distribution and deadly free-kicks have made him a potent threat from midfield. Bahrain has ended 2004 ranked 8th in Asia and 49th overall in the FIFA World Rankings. However, Bahrain’s showing during the GCC Cup, especially its 3-0 crushing of Saudi Arabia, is sure to move it higher up in the rankings, when it is published in January.
All three of Bahrain’s opponents in their World Cup Qualification group will be wary that Bahrain will be a formidable opponent, especially in Manama, where they will be fairly confident of taking all three points against their visitors. Japan and Iran have both played Bahrain in recent months, and did not face an easy task. North Korea will be swimming in new shored during its games with Bahrain.
Formation
Juricic seems to favor playing with a 3-4-1-2 formation, where he tends to maintain maximum use of the wings. Bahrain also uses a roaming attacking midfielder in its team, in a free role behind the strikers. On paper, that player is Mohammad Salmeen. However, during play that role goes to Talal Yousef, who roams all over the pitch, sometimes finding himself on the left wing, at other times in attack and at other times in central midfield. If he wants to change things, Juricic tends to remove one of his attackers, in order to add an additional player in midfield. At that time, Bahrain’s shape resembles a 3-5-1-1 formation, with an inside-left and an inside-right playing in a three man central midfield. Two key positions in Bahrain’s style of play are the left and right wing-backs, usually either Mahmood Jalal or Salman Issa on the left and Mohammad Hubail on the right. Until recently, Issa was the preferred choice on the left-side; however, Juricic has gone with Jalal during all of the GCC Cup games. Issa has been impressive off the bench, scoring a goal against Saudi Arabia, and setting up another against Kuwait. However, when he has come on, Issa has not taken his customary left wing-back role. Instead, against Saudi Arabia he tended to have an attacking role from the centre-left area in midfield, to the right of Jalal, who played at left wing-back, where he would make attacking runs into the opposition penalty area. Mohammad Hubail, younger brother to Ala’a, Bahrain’s top scorer and key striker, is the regular right wing-back. The younger Hubail is one Bahrain’s key players, and he proficiently plays the role of both the attacking right-winger and defensive right-back. He tracks back at all times, and makes sure that his surging runs do not undermine Bahrain’s right side of defence. Hubail tends to cut inside quite a lot as he attempts to make runs into the opposition’s penalty area. He also sends in his fair share of crosses. However, he does suffer from a lack of physical presence. But, his pace seems to get him to avoid losing out in that respect. However, it must be said that he is not afraid to stuck in and do the nitty-gritty work.
In central midfield, Bahrain uses a sitting defensive midfielder, who rarely if ever makes forward runs, in the shape of Rashid Al Dossary. He is rarely visible during the flow of the game; however, he is quite competent in breaking up play. Mohammad Salmeen, another of Bahrain’s star players, plays alongside him in a deep playmaker role. Salmeens tends to play accurate over-the-defence long balls towards the final-third. His passes tend to pick out the man, more often than not. He is especially inclined in playing these balls towards the right-wing, where Mohammad Hubail picks up the ball and moves in for a quick cross. Salmeen also tends to make surging runs through the middle of the pitch. The ease at which he gets past the defenders is alarming. However, he uses more power and pace rather than skill to do so. Up front, if Juricic uses twin-strikers, then, Hussain Ali and Ala’a Hubail will be the chosen players more likely than not. Duaij Nasser is the reserve striker who is equally capable of scoring goals, as his compatriots. Ala’a is a hard-working forward, who comes deep quite a lot to collect the ball and spread the play. This may be problematic for the designated defender who is to mark him. His tendency to come into the half-way line, if not further back, can drag the defensive marker out of position. Hussain Ali is a typical traditional center-forward. He stays forward at all times. He possesses a good shot from long-range and is not afraid to test the goalkeeper. Ala’a has a good first touch, good ball-control, good physical strength to hold off defenders, despite his small size, and is a great goal poacher, especially inside the 6 yard box, a typical “fox in the box”.
In defence, Bahrain’s back three line up using a sweeper-like system. Recently, Hussain Ali Baba has played as the sweeper in the back-three. However, Bahrain’s regular captain Mohammad Juma’a made a return to the first team during Bahrain’s play-off match with Kuwait in the GCC Cup. At that time, Baba moved to play as the right-central defender, causing the regular player in that position, Abdullah Marzooqi, to be dropped. Baba possesses a great reading of the game and rectifies most of the mistakes that his compatriots in defence commit, when he plays as the central sweeper. He is also capable in the air and does not get caught short for pace. He is by far Bahrain’s best defender, and none of the others come close to his quality. On the left-central side, Mohammad Hussain plays. He is strong, good in the air and has good foot-work for a big player. However, he can let himself down with a lack of concentration at times, as happened against Oman in the semi-final match-up at the GCC Cup. Marzooqi, on the other hand, another big player, is quite capable in the air; however, his footwork, and ball control have a lot to be desired for. In short, he can be a liability, if someone runs at him with a ball, at pace. In goal, Bahrain has recently been using Al Muharraq goalkeeper Ali Hassan, but Ali Saeed of Al Ahli was their regular goalkeeper during the Asian Cup in China. During the play-off match against Kuwait recently, Bahrain used Mohammad Ali in goal.
(3-5-2)
Ali Hassan (goalie)
Hussain Ali Baba
Abdullah Al Marzooqi Mohammad Hussain
Mohammad Hubail Rashid Al Dossary Mohammad Salmeen Mahmood Jalal
Talal Yousef
Ala’a Hubail or Duaij Nasser Hussain Ali
We have given you the most likely Bahrain starting line-up, IF Ala’a Hubail is somehow cleared to play, which is not beyond question. If he is not cleared by FIFA, then expect Juricic to replace him by Duaij Nasser, who is a capable striker himself, and will play off Hussain Ali, in a withdrawn role that would see him help the midfielders a lot. A second option would be to play with one striker, most likely Hussain Ali, and add a 6th midfielder, Salman Issa who will play in the inside-left position between Mohammad Salmeen and Mahmood Jalal, a position that he has filled on many occasions quite capably.
Head to Head
Bahrain (BHR) Iran (IRN)
6 Played 6
2 Won 2
2 Drawn 2
2 Lost 2
6 Goals 8
8 Against 6
06-AUG-04 BEIJING (China PR) Iran vs. Bahrain 4:2 (1:0) Asian Nations Cup 2004
21-OCT-01 MANAMA (Bahrain) Bahrain vs. Iran 3:1 (2:0) FIFA WC 2002 Prel. Comp. AFC
14-SEP-01 TEHRAN (Iran) Iran vs. Bahrain 0:0 FIFA WC 2002 Prel. Comp. AFC
09-APR-00 TEHRAN (Iran) Iran vs. Bahrain 3:0 (0:0) Asian Nations Cup 2000 Prel. Comp.
04-APR-00 DAMASCUS (Syria) Bahrain vs. Iran 1:0 Asian Nations Cup 2000 Prel. Comp.
03-OCT-94 HIROSHIMA (Japan) Iran vs. Bahrain 0:0 Asian Games 1994
Squad
Number Name Position Club (In Bahrain unless stated)
Ali Hassan Goalkeeper Al Muharraq
21 Mohammad Ali Goalkeeper -
22 Ali Saeed Goalkeeper Al Ahli
Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim Goalkeeper Al Najmah
Sayed Mohammad Jaffer Sabet Goalkeeper Al Malkiyah
12 Mohammad Juma’a Defender Busaiteen
17 Hussain Ali Baba Defender Al Shammal (Qatar)
3 Abdullah Al Marzooqi Defender Al Rifa’a
2 Mohammad Hussain Defender Al Ahli
11 Faisal Abdul Aziz Defender Al Muharraq
5 Hassan Al Mussawi Defender Manama
M. S. Adnan Defender Al Khor
14 Salman Issa Defender Al Rifa’a
6 Ghazi Al Koari Defender Busaiteen
20 Adel Abbas Defender Manama
7 Mahmood Jalal Midfield Al Muharraq
8 Rashid Al Dossary Midfield Al Arabi (Qatar)
10 Mohammad Salmeen Midfield Al Arabi (Qatar)
13 Talal Yousef Midfield Al Kuwait (Kuwait)
15 Saleh Farhan Midfield Al Rifa’a
29 Mohammad Hubail Midfield Al Grafh (Qatar)
Ahmad Hassan Midfield Al Rifa’a
30 Ala’a Hubail Forward Al Grafh (Qatar)
23 Duaij Nasser Forward Al Shammal (Qatar)
9 Hussain Ali Forward Al Rayyan (Qatar)
19 Mohammad Jaffar Forward Al Muharraq
Hussain Salman Makki Forward Al Arabi (Qatar)
Rashed Jamal Salim Forward Al Najmah
